Shakespeare’s first work may well have been that of a general helper, an odd-job man, about the theater; but he soon became an actor, and the records of the old London theaters show that in the next ten years he gained a prominent place, though there is little reason to believe that he was counted among the “stars.”  Within two years he was at work on plays, and his course here was exactly like that of other playwrights of his time.  He worked with other men, and he revised old plays before writing his own, and so gained a practical knowledge of his art. Henry VI (c. 1590-1591) is an example of this tinkering work, in which, however, his native power is unmistakably manifest.  The three parts of Henry VI (and Richard III, which belongs with them) are a succession of scenes from English Chronicle history strung together very loosely; and only in the last is there any definite attempt at unity.  That he soon fell under Marlowe’s influence is evident from the atrocities and bombast of Titus Andronicus and Richard III.  The former may have been written by both playwrights in collaboration, or may be one of Marlowe’s horrors left unfinished by his early death and brought to an end by Shakespeare.  He soon broke away from this apprentice work, and then appeared in rapid succession Love’s Labour’s Lost, Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona, the first English Chronicle plays,[151] A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet.  This order is more or less conjectural; but the wide variety of these plays, as well as their unevenness and frequent crudities, marks the first or experimental stage of Shakespeare’s work.  It is as if the author were trying his power, or more likely trying the temper of his audience.  For it must be remembered that to please his audience was probably the ruling motive of Shakespeare, as of the other early dramatists, during the most vigorous and prolific period of his career.

Shakespeare’s poems, rather than his dramatic work, mark the beginning of his success.  “Venus and Adonis” became immensely popular in London, and its dedication to the Earl of Southampton brought, according to tradition, a substantial money gift, which may have laid the foundation for Shakespeare’s business success.  He appears to have shrewdly invested his money, and soon became part owner of the Globe and Blackfriars theaters, in which his plays were presented by his own companies.  His success and popularity grew amazingly.  Within a decade of his unnoticed arrival in London he was one of the most famous actors and literary men in England.